A Nobel Laureate Has Been Named The World Bank's Chief Economist For The First Time
- 16.09.2026, 18:35
Photo: World Health Organization
The University of Chicago professor will begin his duties on October 1.
The World Bank has appointed 61-year-old Nobel laureate Michael Kremer as Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics. His appointment was reported by Reuters.
Kremer is the first economist to assume this position while already holding a Nobel Prize, — unlike Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Romer, who received this prestigious award after stepping down from their positions as the bank’s chief economist. He previously taught economics at Harvard, where he also earned his Ph.D.
The University of Chicago professor will succeed Indermit Gill, who retired last month, and will assume his duties on October 1 — shortly before the annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF in Bangkok.
“Michael has dedicated his career not just to identifying what works in development, but to proving it in practice at scale—and that is exactly the kind of thinking we need,” commented World Bank President Ajay Banga on the appointment.
He noted that Kremer is joining the organization at a time when the world needs bold solutions to the most pressing development challenges, including creating jobs for more than 1.2 billion young people who will reach working age in the coming decade.
“The World Bank Group has tremendous research capacity to develop and test innovative solutions to development challenges—and the operational capacity to scale them up and improve people’s lives,” Kremer said.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics jointly with Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee in 2019 for their experimental approach to tackling global poverty. Subsequently, Kremer and his wife, British economist Rachel Glenerster, developed a mechanism for advance market commitments that incentivized pharmaceutical companies to develop vaccines for low-income countries.
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